Description

Originally published in 1914, this charming and original sequel to the novels of Jane Austen intertwines the lives of the most beloved characters from...

The first Jane Austen sequel ever written!

Originally published in 1914, this charming and original sequel to the novels of Jane Austen intertwines the lives of the most beloved characters from all six Austen novels with new characters of the author's devising. Inventive matchmaking leads numerous pairs of lovers through the inevitable (and entertaining) difficulties they must encounter before they are united in the end.

Old Friends and New Fancies is a gratifying read for any Jane Austen enthusiast.

"This is the ultimate Jane Austen sequel.…Virtually all the characters left standing at the end of the novels-most particularly the unmarried ones-must all meet up… Broken engagements will follow, a few false trails and threatened unacceptable matches must be endured before the Forces of Good prevail." -Charles Wenz, Life Member of the Jane Austen Society

Excerpt

Excerpt from CHAPTER 1There is one characteristic which may be safely said to belong to nearly all happily-married couples—that of desiring to see equally happy marriages among their young frien...

Excerpt from CHAPTER 1There is one characteristic which may be safely said to belong to nearly all happily-married couples—that of desiring to see equally happy marriages among their young friends; and in some cases, where their wishes are strong and circumstances seem favourable to the exertion of their own efforts, they may even embark upon the perilous but delightful course of helping those persons whose minds are as yet not made up, to form a decision respecting this important crisis in life, and this done, to assist in clearing the way in order that this decision may forthwith be acted upon.

Some good intentions of this kind, arising out of a very sincere affection for both the persons concerned, and a real anxiety about the future of the younger and dearer of the two, had actuated Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy in promoting an engagement between Georgiana Darcy and Colonel Fitzwilliam. Georgiana was then twenty, and had lived entirely with her brother during the three and a half years of his married life. Reserved, shy, without self-reliance, and slow to form new attachments, she had been accustomed to look upon the Colonel as, after her brother, her eldest and best friend, a feeling which the disparity of their ages served to strengthen. She had therefore accepted the fact of their new relations with a kind of timid pleasure, only imploring Elizabeth that nothing need be said about marriage for some time to come.

“Elizabeth, when I am married, shall I have to go and stay at Rosings without you?” she had asked; and on being assured that such might be the terrible consequences of matrimony, she had manifested a strong inclination not to look beyond the present, but to enjoy for some time longer the love and protection she had always met with as an inmate of her brother’s house.

Lady Catherine de Bourgh had thought it necessary to go through the form of expressing displeasure at the whole proceeding, in consequence of Darcy’s omission to ask her advice in the disposal of his sister’s hand, but in reality she so thoroughly approved of the match between her nephew and niece that she forgot her chagrin, and talked everywhere of her satisfaction in at last seeing a prospect of a member of the Darcy family being united to one who was in every respect worthy of the position.

Mr. and Mrs. Darcy were seated in the library at Pemberley one April morning when the engagement was about six months old. Their two children, a handsome boy of two, and a baby girl of a few months, had just been taken upstairs after the merry games with their parents to which this hour was usually devoted, and Elizabeth was arranging with her husband the plans for the day.

“What has become of Georgiana and Fitzwilliam?” inquired Darcy. “I understand they were going to ride together; but they both said they would prefer to put it off till twelve o’clock, when I could go with them.”

“They have been walking on the terrace, but Georgiana has gone in now,” replied Elizabeth, glancing out of the window. She returned to her husband’s side, and, sitting down, began to speak with great earnestness. “Do you think that they are really happy in their engagement? I have been watching them closely for some days, and I am convinced that Georgiana, at all events, is not.”

Mr. Darcy’s manner expressed surprise and incredulity. “What fancy is this you have taken into your head, Elizabeth? No, certainly no such idea had ever crossed my own mind. You must be mistaken.”

“I do not think so,” said Elizabeth. “Their relation to one another has not, since he has been staying here this time, its former ease and naturalness, and I have noticed other indications as well, which make me think that freedom would bring them mutual relief.”

“I am sorry for what you say, Elizabeth,” said Darcy gravely; “but it is possible you lay too much stress on what may be merely a passing mood. When we first consented to the engagement I thought them to be excellently suited to each other, and so far I have not seen anything to modify that opinion. What has Georgiana been saying to you?”

“She has said nothing, but knowing her so well, I can see she is not happy. She is nervous, restless, unlike herself; she tries to escape being alone with Robert; she avoids with a painful embarrassment any reference to her future plans; nay, you must have noticed incidents like that of yesterday, when she almost cried and begged to be excused from going with us to Bath next week.”

“That is mere foolishness; there is no shadow of reason why she should be more afraid of her Aunt Catherine now than she ever was.”

“There is more reason, if she dreads to hear her marriage talked of as rapidly approaching, and herself and Robert referred to as a most fortunate and admirably-assorted pair—you know how your aunt harangues them on all occasions.”

Darcy smiled slightly, then rose and began to pace the room. “If your conjectures are correct, Elizabeth, and Georgiana is unhappy in the prospect of this marriage, of course it cannot go on; but I shall be deeply grieved for all reasons, and I hardly know how to ask Fitzwilliam to release her. Excellent fellow though he is, he might well resent being thrown over after half a year for what seems like a girlish caprice.”

“I do not believe that in any case he would resent it,” replied Elizabeth. “There would be regret on both sides—regret that they had not been able to make each other happy; but I more than suspect that if we could ascertain his feelings, we should find them to coincide with Georgiana’s. In six months, you know, they have had time to reflect and to realize what the engagement means to both of them.”

“You assume a good deal, Elizabeth. I cannot believe that it is so uncongenial to Fitzwilliam.”

“That is because he is too good, too honourable to show it; and yet I am sensible that it is so—that his regard for Georgiana is that of a friend, a brother, nothing more. I suppose you cannot remember the time when we were engaged, Darcy, and Bingley and Jane also?” she added, looking archly at her husband.

“My dear, I recollect it all with the deepest satisfaction; but, you know, everyone does not display their feelings in the same way. Fitzwilliam is an older man than I am, and was never prone to raptures, and Georgiana has not the liveliness of mind of my Elizabeth.”

“I know they are not likely to be run away with by their feelings, as Mr. Collins would say,” replied Elizabeth, smiling; “but even taking Fitzwilliam’s age and Georgiana’s gravity into consideration, this is not at all the same thing. I am convinced that they do not find that complete joy in their engagement that people should, and that these two might if they were each engaged to the right person.”

“Do you mean that Georgiana has seen someone whom she might prefer?” asked Darcy sharply.

Elizabeth gave a decided negative to this, and her husband remained for some minutes wrapped in thought. At length he roused himself, and said: “You had better speak to Georgiana on the subject, Elizabeth, and if it is as you suppose, we will talk it over with Fitzwilliam together. For my sister to dissolve her engagement is a serious step, and must be well considered.”

His wife agreed, and added: “Pray, dear Darcy, if it should come to an end, do not show any resentment in your manner towards Georgiana. She cannot help not caring enough for Fitzwilliam, and it will be painful enough for her to break with him and to know that she has disappointed you.”

“I will try not to do so, Elizabeth; but you know how much I desire a safe and honourable settlement in life for Georgiana, such as this marriage would have been.”

Reviews

I recently received two Austen sequels from Sourcebooks: Old Friends and New Fancies and Pemberley Shades. You all might think writing sequels to Austen novels is a modern fixation but both the...

I recently received two Austen sequels from Sourcebooks: Old Friends and New Fancies and Pemberley Shades. You all might think writing sequels to Austen novels is a modern fixation but both these are new releases of very old novels.

Old Friends and New Fancies by Sybil G Brinton was written in 1913 and was my favorite of the two. Its an absolute Austenite fantasy. Think of all the unmarried folks left at the end of the Austen novels and contrive to have them meet. Im sure many a fan has imagined it. In Old Friends, the Darcys and Co. take a trip to Bath after Colonel Fitzwilliam and Georgiana (Pride and Prejudice) break off their engagement. Fitzwilliam falls head over heels for Mary Crawford (Mansfield Park) but an incident with Lady Catherine De Bourgh puts on the brakes for this romance. Meanwhile, Kitty Bennet sets her hat at William Price (Mansfield Park) who is completely oblivious to her flirtations. Even the help of matchmaker Emma Knightley (Emma) cant help Kitty snag this guy. And poor Georgiana is in the middle of these dramas. While characters from Pride and Prejudice and Mansfield Park are centre stage, stars from the other works make cameo appearances.

This could have gone very badly but Brinton stays true to the characters of Austen. Kitty is as ditsy as ever, being separated from Lydia has no benefit. I wanted to strangle the girl, which is about right for Kitty. Georgiana is sweetness and kindness without making you want to gag. Mary Crawford doesnt come out unscathed from the exploits of Mansfield Park and has to reap what shes sown. I loved her in Old Friends. She still has the spunk she did (I liked her more than Fanny Price in the original novel) but at times her pride and stubbornness made me want to shake her. Fitzwilliam and William are perfect Austen heroes- always doing the right thing.

The writing is true to Austen. Sybil Brinton doesnt have the bite and wit that Jane did but she is a reasonable facsimile. The story is light with a few tense moments. There are plenty of plot twists and the story keeps on trucking to the expected happy ending. The tension between the romantic couples is perfect and there are even a few love triangles to spice everything up. All in all, it was a pleasant surprise.

Inquiring Readers, Although SourceBooks came out with Old Friends and New Fancies last summer, we waited to review this first Jane Austen sequel by Sybil Brinton until now. Reviewed by Lady Anne

The only real problem with Jane Austen is that she left us with a paucity of books to read and re-read. Most of us find that our favorites shift and change as we age, and all of us want more to read by our favorite.

Sybil Brinton, an Englishwoman born in the 1870s, was the first to address this problem in her book, Old Friends and New Fancies. First published in 1913, the novel rounds up unmarried characters from Austen’s works and provides cross-novel romantic entanglement. Her main characters are Georgiana Darcy, Colonel Fitzwilliam, and Kitty Bennet, all, of course, from Pride and Prejudice. During the course of several months, living the lifestyle of their class and time, these three meet characters from Austen’s other books. It is great fun to see then in Bath, London, and at the various estates to and from which they all travel. Here’s Lady Catherine de Bourgh, characterizing Persuasion’s Sir Walter Elliot as a “foolish old beau,” (I loved that!) and creating a huge scene in her inimitable style, urged on by Lucy Steele Ferrars and her sister Anne of Sense and Sensibility, still causing trouble by their malicious gossip, aided and abetted by Mr. Yates from Mansfield Park. Well-meaning old Mrs. Jennings, from Sense and Sensibility is still making her tiresome jokes about her young friends’ beaux, and Emma Woodhouse Knightly is still trying to run everyone’s lives for them. She and her husband are now living in London, Highbury being too small a stage for her activities. An inveterate matchmaker (one might have thought she would learn, but we do remember Jane introducing Emma as one who thought very highly of herself), Emma here plays havoc with Kitty Bennet. Kitty is still foolish, mostly interested in balls and clothes, but we have hope that she might mature with grace. She and Georgiana, much the same age and sharing family ties, become confidantes, although certainly they have little in common other than an attractive naval officer, William Price from Mansfield Park. The Darcys are quite concerned about their sister Georgiana, who remains shy and a little withdrawn, but becomes an interesting and thoughtful character as drawn by Brinton, and a more interesting foil for Kitty than Lydia was. Colonel Fitzwilliam, Darcy’s helpful cousin in Pride and Prejudice, meets and falls hard for the enigmatic Mary Crawford of Mansfield Park. Brinton’s Colonel is, perhaps, a little more unsure of himself (being that dreaded phenomenon, a younger son) than I would have made him, but he too gets a thoughtful delineation.Mother and Child, fashion plate from My Grandmothers Gowns, 1886

Mother and Child, fashion plate from My Grandmothers Gowns, 1886

One of the best things about Old Friends and New Fancies is that Brinton generally maintains the tone of Jane Austen’s voice. The stories unfold in a leisurely pace; these people, generally of the same class and station, would likely meet each other, and the various characters fall in with people with whom they share similar interests. We can recognize that Elizabeth Bennet Darcy and Anne Elliot Wentworth would like each other, and are pleased that Elinor Dashwood Ferrars and her Edward have been given the living near Pemberley. The other characters, in new situations and among their peers, generally act as we would expect them to. We are happy to see Sir Walter get a strong come-uppance and chuckle at Elizabeth Elliot’s latest hope for a wealthy, handsome husband.

Austen is more satiric and sharper in her observations than Brinton; this book is a gentle resolution of several of the unwed finding their happily ever after among characters from the other books. As such, it is a friendly exercise and truer to Jane’s tone and ideals than most of the current Austeniana. While it is not necessary to be knowledgeable about all of Austen’s books to enjoy Old Friends and New Fancies, it does help, and Brinton’s opinions of Austen’s characters can only be understood if you know the originals.

Old Friends and New Fancies, surely a work of love, is the only book written by Sybil Brinton. I enjoyed it thoroughly, and reminded myself that it is long past time that I re-read Mansfield Park.

Sybil G. Brinton, Old Friends & New Fancies: The Imaginary Sequel to the Novels of Jane Austen (1914; Sourcebooks, 2007)

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Sequels to Jane Austens works abound, but Old Friends & New Fancies, originally published in 1914 and reprinted in 2007, is the first. Into it are crammed as many of Jane Austens characters as possible, so that the novel is simply stuffed with familiar faces.

The main characters are the Bingleys and Darcys of Pride & Prejudice, but we have Emma Knightley (Emma) up to her old tricks (with the usual result); Mrs. Jennings (Sense & Sensibility), just as loud and jolly as ever; Lucy Steele Ferrars (S&S), even more conniving if possible; and Lady Catherine de Bourgh (P&P), as insufferable as ever.

While it stretches credulity that all of Austens many characters should have known one another, Brinton manages to pull it off. Many of the characters, of course, met at Bath or other spots popular with their class, and many introductions are made during the course of the story.

And what is the story? Love, of course. Will she have him? Will he propose? Has he set his sights on the wrong girl? Will her past continue to haunt her? And will Emma ever learn to stop matchmaking?

Old Friends & New Fancies is utterly charming and difficult to put down  were it not for that pesky day job and occasionally needing to sleep, Idve finished it in one sitting  and at 377 pages, thats saying something!